Neter Khertet: The Land of the Dead
by Wicked.Intentions
Summary: AU! Gaara/Lee. While exploring a pyramid, the tomb of the Pharaoh Gaara, a young archaeologist is caught in a time warp that sends him back to Ancient Egypt. With his strange appearance and mannerisms, he...


**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_, all characters and settings, and anything else you would recognize as pertaining to this series, as well as real life, does not belong to me. The plot itself belongs to me. I do not intend to make any money off the writing of this fan fiction; it is merely for entertainment purposes.

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**Title**: _Neter-Khertet: The Land of the Dead_.

**Complete Summary**: AU! Gaara/Lee. While exploring a pyramid, the tomb of the Pharaoh Gaara, a young archaeologist is caught in a time warp that sends him back to Ancient Egypt. With his strange appearance and mannerisms, he immediately is sent to the pharaoh, who becomes interested in the newcomer. However, the pharaoh has a dark secret that will prove dangerous to his home…

**Pairin****g**: Pharaoh!Gaara/Archaeologist!Lee.

**Rating**: T.

**Notes**: This is my first _Naruto_ story.

I wrote this some time ago but never posted it. I'm not sure when I'll update it, as I am currently involved in other stories I'm writing.

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**Chapter I: The Sands of Time**

"The Nile Delta! Next stop, the Nile Delta! All aboard!" a portly man dressed from head to toe in khaki bellowed, catching the attention of the numerous tourists that had wandered off in their impatience. It had been nearly an hour that they had been waiting for the bus to take them out to explore the ancient Egyptian lands.

Forming a tightly knitted group around their assumed tour guide, the tourists eagerly clutched at each other, their eyes sparkling at the prospect of seeing pyramids and… and… _mummies_. Oh, yes, it was all about the mummies.

A shiny, new bus pulled up behind the tour guide and its doors swung open to allow the people entry.

"Oh," the bulging man added as an afterthought, "the air conditioner is stationed over only a small section of the seats due to a recent cut in funding, so you might want to secure your spot there." He gestured for the disbelieving group to follow him onto the bus, disappearing within the cool darkness of the tour bus, panting from the effort.

While the people were practically fighting and clawing their way in to get a chance at a seat under the air conditioner in the back of the bus, a young archaeologist-in-training was struggling to not lose his guidebook in the throng of writhing bodies.

"Excuse me! Please do not push! There will be plenty of room for all of us!" the young archaeologist insisted, ducking under a flailing arm or two.

"'Ey, Lee, relax. You won't even need that!" a spiky blonde-haired teenager exclaimed, ripping the guidebook out of 'Lee's' hands and tossing it over his shoulder. He swung an arm around the stuttering teenager and led him through the crowd. "Outta my way, outta my way! Naruto Uzumaki, archaeologist-in-training extraordinaire, coming through! We deserve the air conditioning more 'cause we're professionals!"

In no time at all, Naruto had forced his way onto the bus, dragging a reluctant Rock Lee behind him. "See, what did I tell ya? I knew we'd get the good seats!" He plopped down onto a window seat, patting the one next to him. His sweaty blonde locks fluttered with the cooling breeze above them.

Rock Lee eased down into a sitting position, wringing his hands nervously. "Uhm… Naruto?"

"Wha'?"

"I am a bit nervous about this. Are you sure we are taking the right bus?"

"Of course I'm sure! I checked the list of buses before we left Japan! We take bus twenty-four to the Nile Delta and meet up with the group there. Don't worry yerself, pal!" Lowering his voice, Naruto continued, "Trust me, signing up to take a different bus than what the other people took was the best idea. Who wants to be on a crowded bus with a ton of _archaeologists-in-training_?"

Wincing at the rather rough pat on the back he received from his enthusiastic friend, Rock Lee managed a smile. "It is just… we would not have enough money for the return trip or many supplies…"

"If all else fails, we still have cell phones. We can call our classmates to come get us. Oorr…" nudging Lee in the ribs obnoxiously, Naruto grinned, "Sakura could come get us."

Rock Lee perked up at the mention of their pink-haired female friend. She had chosen to pursue a career in medicine, so she was busy training with the resident Dean of Medicine, Tsunade. "A-absolutely! Sweet Sakura would never allow her friends to remain stranded in a desert!" He became excited at the idea of her coming to join them.

Naruto arched a pale eyebrow. "Are we talking about the same Sakura? I was just thinkin' about how rich she is. She could bring us some money, and we'd be out of here in no time!"

Lee threaded a hand through his flawless black bowl-cut hair. "I guess…"

Anything Naruto was going to say next was cut off when the intercom crackled to life above them. They had not even realized that everyone had claimed seats and they were ready to depart.

"Hello," a dull voice rumbled, "this is the last bus to the Nile Delta for the day, and I have been saying the same thing over and over again for the past five tours. Would there be anyone who objected if I said I wasn't going to give you a lecture about the history of the Nile Delta, its past inhabitants, its natural resources… geographical location… political affiliation…?" the voice droned on, silencing its audience.

When a small boy raised his hand unsurely, a sigh was heard. "Fine. I guess I'll just read from this brochure while I'm driving."

Rock Lee clutched his plastic bus seat in terror.

"The Nile Delta is located in northern Egypt… The Nile River empties out into the Mediterranean Sea from multiple places. For thousands of years, this land has been inhabited by people due to its rich, fertile…"

"Psst, Lee! What are you thinking about doing first when we get out there?" Naruto cut across the monotone.

"Oh, I read in our textbook that there was the tomb of a very magnificent pharaoh out here. I wanted to see if I could gain access to the pyramid and view the artifacts and wall paintings within it."

"Pharaoh? Oh, you mean that king… thing-y?"

"Yes, the pharaoh presided over both Upper and Lower Egypt as the ruler. All the land belonged to him, and he made all the laws," Lee recited, thinking back to his studying the night before on the airplane.

"What's this pharaoh's name?"

Lee pursed his lips in thought. "Pharaoh Gaara, I believe. He was famous for his fair judgments and military precision. There was nothing he could not conquer."

"Sounds cool. Anything bad ever happen?" Naruto stifled a yawn, rolling his eyes at the window, watching the never-ending desert flash by.

"Why, yes, actually. The textbook never goes into detail, however…" Lee frowned. "It informed me that during his rule, multiple people died, found slaughtered all over temples. The ancient Egyptians believed that someone was sacrificing humans to the gods, even though it rarely happened in other culture around there. It was worse than an American murder." He shuddered at the thought of it.

"Murder?" Naruto gave Lee a semi-interested look. "Well, who do _you_ think was doing it?"

The droning voice filtered through their conversation while the black-haired teenager thought about it.

"…rainfall being very little here and most of it falling during the winter months…"

"It was probably the pharaoh himself," Lee theorized. "After all, it was the duty of the pharaoh to build the temples in dedication to the gods. He probably was very religious."

"So, how'd he look? Was he crazed and bloodthirsty?"

"He had the most unusual appearance…" Lee trailed off. "While most everyone else had dark hair and skin, he had bright red hair and pale skin. It was as if he never saw the sun even though they worshipped the sun god. As for his personality, he was rather quiet and kept to himself, mostly."

"Sounds freaky," Naruto agreed. "Any family? A wife?"

"He had a brother and sister, both elder. He never married, even when he turned 15 years old, which I believe is an average marrying age of males."

"…some cities in the Nile Delta known as Rosetta, Mit Abu al-Kum, Canopus, and Naucratis…"

"15 years old?" Naruto sputtered incredulously. "_Why_ would you marry that young?"

Rock Lee shrugged helplessly. "I suspect… for the joining of families? Or perhaps a sense of security?"

Naruto yawned loudly. "That's dull!"

"Oh, Pharaoh Gaara was engaged to his… sister at one point," Lee recalled with a slight flush of his cheeks. "…However, the engagement was cut off last minute for some reason, and she ended up marrying her other brother."

"_Yeeuck_!" Naruto made a face. "Incest?"

"It was a very common thing, especially in the royal families."

"That's just sick…"

"Maybe so, but I still want to view the pyramid of Pharaoh Gaara. I cannot wait!" He bounced in his seat a few times excitedly, causing some people to eye him suspiciously.

"…Now, if you look to your right, you'll see…"

They sat in companionable silence for a moment before a thought came to the black-haired youth. "Naruto, you never did tell me what you planned to do in your free time."

"Oh!" Naruto grinned. "That's right. I have the best plan ever for this vacation. I'm going to go into the nearest town… convert some of my money… rent a hotel room… and spend the rest of the week checking out the 'sights'…"

Lee knotted his bushy eyebrows together in confusion. "Where is the educational value in that?"

"I'm not here for education! I wanna meet some Egyptian girls!" The blonde-haired teenager winked, causing Lee to shift uneasily in his seat. "You can have all the fun you want with what's-his-face, but I think I'll stick with the girls."

Lee flushed at the implication. "I am _not_—"

"Just kiddin'! Geez, you're tense today. " Naruto snorted. "Just full o' unresolved sexual tension, aren't ya?"

His friend choked on his own saliva. "_What_?"

"Just sayin'." A shrug.

* * *

A couple hours later, the dozing Rock Lee was awoken rudely by a clamor of voices.

"Finally, we're here! Lee, get up, c'mon!"

Before he could fully rub the sleep from his eyes, Lee found himself wrenched out of his seat and dragged across the floor and down the steps of the bus.

"Ouuch," Lee whined, grasping his sore backside. "You did not have to drag me the entire way!"

"Yeah, whatever. Go get our bags, will ya?"

Rock Lee picked himself up from the ground and, dusting himself off, he made his way to the place where bags were being unloaded from the side of the bus. Locating his own forest green pack rather quickly, he was unsurprised when an orange, bulky bag screamed out at him. "That is definitely Naruto's," he muttered fondly, retrieving it.

Returning to the place where he left the hyperactive blonde, he handed over the orange pack to him, shouldering his own.

"All right, we should find the group. I bet we'll be checking out the town first 'cause we have to get our hotel rooms."

"What is the nearest town?"

"Uh… I dunno. I'll ask." Naruto dashed off to do so, and Lee scoped his surroundings, uncertain. It was rather different than what the picture showed…

"LEE!"

The black-haired teenager jumped in fright when his friend cried out his name. Spinning on his heel to meet a worried gaze, his own expression molded to match. "…What?"

"We, uh, kinda… took the wrong bus…"

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry!" Naruto threw up his hands to protect his face, which was in danger of being pummeled for his incompetence.

"Naruto, how could you? We might be on the completely opposite side of the Nile Delta that we should be on! That will take countless days of travel!"

"I… I didn't mean to! I just might have gotten my numbers mixed up…"

Lee clenched his hand into a fist and bit it. "…All right. Everything will be… all right."

"We'll have to call Sakura after all." Naruto winced. "I don't wanna have Master Iruka knowing about my little mess up."

"I am sure that by the fact that we have yet to show up that he may know." Lee rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Anyways, it may take Sakura some time to get here. We do not know of how busy she may be."

"True, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. I'll call her and tell her about our situation. She'll have a week to prepare 'cause I still wanna stay here and enjoy the Egyptian women."

Lee nodded. "And I still want to explore."

"Well, it's still sunny out. What are you going to be doing?"

"Journeying to the pyramid of Pharaoh Gaara, of course!" Lee gave him a motivational thumbs-up sign, complete with shiny, toothy grin. "I will be spending my entire week there, making notes about every detail of its interior. I intend for this to be my final project."

"Ew. Leave it to Lee to think about the final class project of sophomore year when we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves and relaxing. We're in Egypt!"

Rock Lee merely smiled and waved, setting off in the direction of the town, adjusting his heavy bag on his shoulder.

* * *

Getting directions to the pyramid had been rather simple, and Lee found himself marveling at the size of the structure from a distance when he had climbed over yet another sand dune. Luckily for them, they had ended up on the side of the Nile Delta that housed Pharaoh Gaara's final resting place. He would not have liked to have to spend more money on another airplane ticket just to ride to the opposite side of the Nile.

Drawing nearer to the pillars that led to the interior of the towering structure, Lee was disheartened to find that a few officers were guarding it. Visiting hours must have just ended for the moment. He had heard from some town-goers that the tour guide took lengthy, frequent breaks due to hot it became out here.

'I must get in there, tour guide or no,' Lee thought, determinedly squeezing his hand into a tight fist. He glanced around, sneaking around behind another sand dune that was significantly closer to the officers. He squinted against the beating rays of the sun to find another entrance.

A shrill ringing noise sounded from the pocket of Lee's shorts, and he narrowly avoided yelping. Identifying the noisy object as his cell phone, he yanked it out.

"Do you hear that?"

"Yeah, let's go investigate over there!"

The cold fingers of fear gripped Rock Lee's heart, and with a whimper, Lee tossed his phone away, sliding around the dune. He waited for the officers to pass by before taking off running into the pyramid, holding his breath.

Stumbling up the grand staircase that led into the main room of the pyramid, he took a moment to take a gulp of air, admiring the interior. Hearing the voices growing louder behind him, Lee sprinted further inside as darkness overtook him. He leaned against an aged pillar that had moss growing up and down it in zigzagging patterns, allowing his eyes some time to adjust to the dimness. Once he was sure that he was not in any danger of tripping over any wayward stepping stones, he retrieved a notepad and pencil from his backpack and began eagerly scribbling down notes.

"The hieroglyphics are very beautifully carved and well preserved," he marveled aloud. "Someone had spent painstaking hours cutting into the stone." He was unable to resist running his fingers delicately over the indentions of the characters. He desperately wished he had begun his lesson on how to read and write them, but he just had not the time.

He turned a corner and immediately shot his arms out to grasp the railings on both sides of him to avoid falling down a staircase. Heart racing, he let out a breath that he had not known he had been holding.

"I need to be more careful in here," he berated himself. "I could have really hurt myself!"

He made his way down the staircase, mildly wondering where the pharaoh's burial room was located. "Perhaps the lowest level…?"

He looped around to descend another staircase, worrying at the growing darkness that was surrounding him. He had a few matches, but they would not last enough time to help him safely in to examine all he needed to know for his project and then help him back out. He brought out a matchstick from his pocket and struck it against the wall to set it aflame, shadows dancing all around him.

He forced an optimistic smile onto his face and paused in mid-step to reassure himself. "I will be able to collect all the information I need and still have light! If I do not make it out with at least one match to spare, I will give myself up to the authorities and perform two hundred push-ups right in front of them!" Feeling significantly lifted from his anxiousness, he marched down the stairs, confidence burning brightly within him. Would his mentor, Master Gai, not be proud of him if he could see him now?

As soon as Lee took his last step, he realized without a doubt that he was inside the chamber of Pharaoh Gaara. Gem-encrusted urns filled with decaying flowers and overflowing with gold caught his eye. Ostrich feather fans were neatly arranged among piles of ivory and ebony wood. Jewelry hung from stakes that were driven into the walls, along with musty, elaborate clothing made of silk.

What astounded him the most was the centerpiece of the chamber—the tomb of the pharaoh. Just looking upon it made Lee want to drop to his knees respectfully; its decoration alone clued him in to the fact that he was in the presence of a very powerful leader. Rubbing at his knees to drive the feeling away, he took a few steps closer to the casket. He held up his flame and awed at the way the many different colored gems sparkled back at him. Intricate designs encased the entirety of it, along with numerous hieroglyphics, which most likely told epic tales about what Pharaoh Gaara had accomplished in his life. To top it all off, carvings of the pharaoh in battle were upon the lid.

Lee could not bring himself to say a word; his jaw did not seem to work at the moment. Scanning the pictures, he frowned when he came across a carving that was filled in with dust, preventing any details to be perceived. He laid a hand atop the tomb and blew a stream of air from his lungs to dislodge the dust. As soon as he was met with the full image, he gasped at what he was seeing. "No… that… that is not possible!"

The dust swirled around him without warning, and Lee staggered backwards a few steps, disbelief written all over his facial features. He fell against the wall behind him, dust filling his orifices, causing him to gag and choke in anguish. It was agonizingly painful and irritating, and terror once again had his heart in a crushing hold. Black crept in from the edges of his vision, and he opened his mouth to let out a silent scream—

—and suddenly it was all over. There was not a trace of dust within him threatening to take his life.

Blinking, Lee realized that something else was not right.

…Where was he?

People dressed in robes of cotton and wool carrying woven baskets atop their heads hurried past where he was perched behind a mound of hay, sparing not a single glance. Vendors called out to passersby, waving healthy looking fruit. The sun beat down on them, illuminating buildings of sandstone.

Two women ambled near to where Lee was hiding.

"Life is wonderful with the new pharaoh, Gaara, in charge."

"I hope he will be able to bring upon a prosperous era of peace and wealth to us all though he is into his fifteen year."

Lee's eyes bugged out. _No way_.

"He is of marrying age, is he not?"

"Indeed he is. I am hopeful that my daughter will prove to be a marvelous wife for him. Being the mother of the pharaoh will have its benefits—even if I am not of his blood."

"You are already a noblewoman with more than enough gold to purchase your necessities. What more could you need?"

"It is not the gold that I am concerned about. My status will skyrocket if everyone was to have knowledge of me being royal family."

Polite laughter faded into the distance when the two women parted ways.

Lee clutched his stomach as a surge of nausea shot through him. This was a dream… It _had_ to be.


End file.
